Welded wire fabric reeling mandrel



Feb. 14, 1961 D. P. COCHRANE EI'AL 2,971,719

WELDED WIRE FABRIC REELING MANDREL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 24, 1958 INVE/V TOR DONALD R COCHRA/VE and ALBERT L. .STOEC/(EL W Attorney 1961 D. P. COCHRANE EI'AL 2,971,719

WELDED WIRE FABRIC REELING MANDREL Filed June 24, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 //VVEW7'0/'?$ DONALD P. COCH/M/VE and ALBERT L. .STOE'C/(EL Attorney United States Patent WELDED WIRE FABRIC REELING MANDREL Donald P. Cochrane, Brecksville, and Albert L. Stoeckel,

Euclid, Ohio, assignors to United States Steel Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Filed June 24, 1958, Ser. No. 744,235

Claims. (Cl. 242-81) This invention relates to apparatus for reeling or coiling electrically welded wire fabric and, more particularly, to a pivotal arrangement of fabric anchoring and winding hooks on a mandrel that facilitates removal of a coil of fabric from the mandrel after winding thereon.

Continuous fabricating lines for the production of Wire fabric commonly include an electrical welding machine to which wire is fed continuously from pay-off reels through sets of straightener rolls. After the welding operation the wire fabric is delivered through a shear that is operated to cut it into uniform lengths, usually about 150 feet long, and then over a looping pit to a reeling apparatus where it is coiled On a mandrel. Each length of fabric, as it is delivered from the shear, must have its leading end anchored to the Winding reel prior to winding and, after coiling thereon into a bundle for handling and shipping purposes, must be stripped therefrom. These anchoring and stripping operations at the coiling reel are troublesome in conventional apparatus and require considerable time for their performance. As a consequence they reduce the productive capacity of the entire line.

In one common and conventional form of reeling apparatus, the winding mandrel is constructed in two parts that are axially aligned and are supported in bearing housings at their opposite ends. The bearing housings are mounted for retracting movement to withdraw the mandrel parts supported thereby from a coil of fabric that has been wound thereon and thus effect a stripping operation of'the coiled fabric with respect to the winding mandrel. For attaching a length of fabric to be wound, each of the mandrel winding parts has a T-slot extending axially inwardly from its outer end in which a key bar is removably received. The key bars have anchoring hooks at spaced intervals along their lengths which engage and anchor the stay wires of the fabric being wound. When the mandrel parts are pulled apart to perform a stripping operation the key bars slide out of the mandrel T-slots and are thus separated from the winding mandrels. They are thereafter removed manually from the interior of the coil to which they are attached by their anchoring hooks. Such key bars weigh about 40 pounds each and the services of two men are required at each reel for assembling them on the winding mandrels prior to each winding operation thereof.

One of the principal objects of this invention is to provide an improved winding mandrel for wire fabric reeling apparatus that will eliminate the delay and troublesome operations experienced in conventional apparatus of the character mentioned above. To this end, the winding mandrel is provided with hooks for anchoring and winding engagement with the fabric to be moved thereon, that are pivotally supported on the mandrel for movement between operative winding and retracted positions. In their operative positions, such books project radially outwardly from the mandrel for winding engagement with the cross-wires of the fabric to be wound, and in their retracted positions they extend axially with respect to the mandrel so that a coil of fabric may be stripped from the mandrel by endwise movement relative thereto Without interference from the winding hooks. In a manner to be described, the winding hooks are pivoted to their retracted positions by camming engagement with the fabric line-wires in response to endwise or axial stripping movement of a coil of fabric with respect to the winding mandrel.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description.

In the drawings, there is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention. In this showing:

Figure l is a plan view of a wire fabric or cloth reeling apparatus that is provided with a winding mandrel constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention;

Figure 2 is an elevational view showing the mandrel in a partially open position in which it is conditioned for anchoring the end of wire fabric to be wound thereto, the Wire fabric being shown diagrammatically in a position above the winding mandrel preliminary to being connected thereto;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view showing the mandrel in its operating position with the wire fabric anchored thereto;

Figure 4 is an enlarged plan view of one of the mandrel halves shown in Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 5 is an elevational view of the mandrel shown in Figure 4 in which a fragmentary portion has been broken away and shown in section along a vertical center plane to illustrate the mounting of the fabric anchoring and winding hooks therein;

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line VI--Vl of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken substantially along the line Vii-VII of Figure 6; and

Figure 8 is an elevational view which shows diagrammatically the application of the winding mandrel of this invention to a modified form of ree ing apparatus.

Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings show somewhat diagrammatically a conventional arrangement of drive and mounting for a'winding mandrel that is constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention, and is adapted to have wire fabric reeled thereon as it is received from a continuous fabricating line of the type, for example, which includes a welding machine for continu ously forming mesh or fabric from wire. In this showing, the winding mandrel is formed of a pair of cornplernentary halves or mandrels 2 which are mounted in axially aligned positions for movement between operating and retracted positions relative to each other. Each mandrel 2 has an identical mounting and operating mechanism which includes a conventional arrangement of rotary drive and retractable bearing support. Such arrangement comprises, for each mandrel 2, a bearing housing 3 that has at its base a slide carriage 4 mounted on a pair of parallel tracks 5 for guided rectilinear movement between retracted and operating positions. Movement of the housings 3 between these positions is effected by fluid pressure motors 6 connected by piston rods 7 with the carriages 4. A chain and sprocket drive for rotating the mandrels comprises a sprocket wheel 10 mounted on each mandrel adjacent its bearing housing 3, and sprocket chains 11 trained over sprocket pinions 12, that have splined connections (not shown) on a drive shaft 13 for movement axially with respect thereto. The sprocket pinions 12 are rotatably supported on arms 14 projecting outwardly from the carriages 4 for movement therewith. As shown in Figure 1, the drive shaft 13 is driven by an electric motor 15 through a gear reducing unit 16 and a chain and sprocket drive 17. The mounting and drive. for each mandrel 2, which is proative anchoring vided by the elements 317, as explained above, is conventional and forms no part per se of this invention.

In accordance with the principles of this invention, and as best shown in Figures 4-7, each of the mandrels 2 is provided with a plurality of fabric anchoring and winding hooks at spaced intervals along its length. Figures their points of intersection with the line-wires. By rea-- son of the reduced scale of Figures 1-3, the hooks 20 and line-wires 21 have been shown diagrammatically with a greater spacing, and it will accordingly be understood that this showing has been made for the purpose of explanation only.

Each hook 20 is part of a separate assembly, designated as a whole by the numeral 23, by which it is supported and mounted for pivotal movement on a mandrel 2. As best shown in Figures 6 and 7, each assembly 23 comprises a T-shaped support 24 that is inserted in a T-shaped slot 25 extending axially of the mandrel 2. The slot 25 extends inwardly from the outer surface of the mandrel 2 which, as shown in Figure 6, is a cylindrical casting 26 of the type commonly used for the reception of the keybars in the conventional apparatus described generally above. When the supports 24 are inserted axially in the slot 25 to positions in abutting relation with each other, the hooks 20 are arranged in axially spaced positions as shown in Figures 4 and 5.

Each of the supports 24 is formed with laterally spaced sides 27 that define a space 28 in which a hook 20 is received. A pivot pin 29 extending transversely of the sides 27 provides a pivotal support for the book 20 re ceived in the space 28. A torsion spring 30 mounted on a pin 31 extending transversely of the sides 27 biases the pivotal movement of the hook 20, in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 7, to an operative anchoring and winding position in which a portion 32 of the hook projects radially beyond the outer surface of the mandrel for winding engagement with welded wire fabric F in a manner to be described. A stop pin 33 engages with the book 20 to limit its pivotal movement by the spring 30 in a counterclockwise direction beyond its oper and winding position shown in solid lines in Figure 7. In this position, the hook portion 32 extends radially with respect to the mandrel 2 and has an axially extending lug 34 at its outer end for engaging a line-wire 21 to hold the terminal end of fabric F against outward movement with respect to the mandrel 2. A camming surface 35 on each hook 20 provides for its pivotal movement to a retracted position, shown in dotted lines in Figure 7, in which all parts are positioned in the space 28 and inwardly of the outer surface of the mandrel 2 when wire cloth is stripped therefrom in a manner to he described.

When the assemblies 23 are inserted in the mandrel slot 25 to positions in which their respective supports 24 have abutting engagement as described above, the pivot pins 29 are parallel and have axes that are spaced radially outwardly and extend transversely with respect to the axis of the mandrel 2. To provide for stripping movement of a coiled bundle of fabric on the mandrel 2, the assemblies '23 are inserted in such manner that the hook camming surfaces 35 face in the direction in which the mandrel 2 moves relatively to the coil in being withdrawn therefrom. For a coiling apparatus of the character shown in Figures 1 and 2 in which stripping of a coil bundle of wire is effected by moving the mandrels 2 outwardly relative to each other, this requires that hooks 20 respectively on the two mandrels 2- be arranged for pivotal movement in opposite rotational directions and with their respective camming surfaces 35 facing outwardly relative to each other in opposite axial directions.

As indicated above, the pivot pins 29 and hooks 20 have an axial spacing on the mandrels 2 corresponding to the distance between adjacent line-wires 21 of the fabric F to be found thereon. To facilitate attachment of the end of a section of fabric F to be wound, the mandrels 2 are moved from their operating position shown in Figure 1 to the partially open position shown in Figure 2 in which their adjacent ends are spaced apart a distance sli htly greater than the axial length of the hook lugs 34. The fabric F can then be lowered to a position in which the ends of the line-wires 21 are supported on the mandrels 2 without interference by the hook lugs 34. After lowering of the fabric F in this manner, the mandrels 2 are moved toward each other and returned to the position shown in Figures 1 and 3 in which their ends have abutting engagement, and this movement operates to position each of the lugs 34 over a line-wire 21 as shown in Figures 3 and 7 to hold the fabric F against the mandrels 2 while it is being wound. Upon rotation of the mandrels 2 in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 6,

the hook portions 32 engage the end cross-wire 22 and operate to wind the fabric F about the mandrels 2.

Upon completion of the winding operation, the carriages 4 are moved outwardly relatively to each other to strip the mandrels 2 from the coil wound thereon. This movement operates to withdraw each mandrel 2 by axial movement outwardly with respect to the coil of fabric wound thereon. To prevent movement of the coil fabric outwardly with one of the mandrels 2, stationary stripper plates 37 are arranged at the outer end of each mandrel 2. The stripper plates 37 are mounted on supports 38 which are secured against movement with respect to the tracks 5 for the carriages 4. Each of the stripper plates 37 has an opening (not shown) through which the mandrel 2 is withdrawn upon outward movement of the carriages 4, and engages an end of a coil of fabric on the mandrel 2 to prevent its outward movement with the mandrel 2.

As the mandrels 2 move outwardly during a stripping operation of this character, the hook camming surfaces 35 engage the line-wires 21 and are pivoted downwardly against the action of their biasing springs 30 to the retracted position shown in dotted lines in Figure 7. The springs 30 of course operate to return the hooks 20 to their operative positions engaged with the stops 33 after axial movement to a position in which they clear the wire that operated to cam them downwardly to their retracted positions. After stripping the coil of cloth from the mandrels 2 in this manner, the carriages 4 are moved inwardly to return the mandrels to the position shown in Figure 2 for attachment of another section of cloth F to be wound thereon, and finally to the fully closed position shown in Figure 3 for a subsequent winding operation.

While the above shows a preferred embodiment in which the invention is applied to a winding mandrel formed of two complementary parts or mandrels 2 that are mounted for axial movement relative to each other, it will be understood that the invention is applicable to other forms of conventional wire fabric reeling apparatus. A modification of this character is shown in Figure 8 wherein the mandrel 40 has a construction similar to the mandrels shown in Figures 4-7, and is provided with pivotal anchoring and winding hooks 20 at spaced intervals along its length. The mandrel 40 is rotatably supported at one end on a stationary bearing support or housing 41 that is provided with the usual drive mechanism for imparting a rotary winding movement thereto. Its other end, during a winding operation, is rotatably supported in a bracket 42 which has a pivot mounting 43 so that it may be moved to a horizontal position to permit stripping of a coil C from the mandrel 40. Strip ping of the coil C is efiected by a stripper plate 44 which is mounted for axial movement by guide bars 45 that have a slide support in guides 46 secured to the housing 41. Axially outward stripping movement is imparted to the plate 44 by a fluid pressure motor 47 through a piston rod 48 which is connected at its outer end to the stripper plate 44. When the motor 47 is operated to move the piston rod 48 to an extended position relative thereto, the stripper plate 44 moves to the right as viewed in Figure 8 to slide a coil C outwardly over the mandrel 40. During this movement of the coil C, the coil linewires 21 engage the hook camming surfaces 35 and cam the hooks 2t) downwardly to retracted positions as explained above in connection with the preferred embodiment shown in Figures 1-7.

While a preferred embodiment of my invention has been shown and described in connection with two forms of wire fabric reeling apparatus it will be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be made with out departing from the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. In a reel for winding wire fabric, a winding mandrel, a plurality of anchoring hooks arranged at spaced intervals along the length of said mandrel for winding engagement with fabric to be wound, means mounting said hooks on said mandrel for pivotal movement respectively about spaced parallel axes extending transversely with respect to the axis of said mandrel between operative winding positions in which they project outwardly from said mandrel and retracted positions in which they are recessed in said mandrel, each of said hooks having a spring biasing its pivotal movement to said operative position and a stop for limiting its movement beyond said operative position.

2. A reel as defined in claim 1 characterized by the provision of coil stripping means including a part movable in an axial direction relative to said mandrel for stripping a coil of fabric therefrom, and in which each of said hooks has a camming surface facing axially of said mandrel and adapted to be engaged by the fabric wire and pivoted thereby with a camming action to its said retracted position in response to axial stripping movement of a coil of fabric relative to said mandrel.

3. In a reel for winding wire fabric comprised of parallel line-wires and transversely extending cross-wires connected to said line-wires, a winding mandrel, a plurality of anchoring hooks arranged at spaced intervals along the length of said mandrel for winding engagement with at least one of said cross-wires, adjacent hooks on said mandrel being spaced apart a distance corresponding to the spacing of the line-wires of the fabric to be wound on said mandrel, means mounting said hooks on said mandrel for pivotal movement respectively about spaced parallel axes extending transversely with respect to the axis of said mandrel between operative winding positions in which they project outwardly from said mandrel and retracted positions in which they are recessed in said mandrel, each of said hooks having a spring biasing its pivotal movement to said operative position and a stop for limiting its movement beyond said operative position.

4. A reel as defined in claim 3 characterized by each of said hooks-having an axially extending part at its outer end which projects over one of said line-wires when it is in its operative winding position.

5. In a reel for winding wire fabric comprised of parallel line-wires and transversely extending cross-wires connected to the line-Wires, a cylindrical winding mandrel having an axially extending slot along its outer surface, a plurality of parallel pivot pins respectively mounted in said slot in positions extending transversely of the axis of said mandrel and arranged along its length at spaced intervals corresponding to the spacing of the line-wires of the fabric to be wound thereon, anchoring hooks mounted on said pins for pivotal movement between retracted positions in which they extend axially with respect to said mandrel and are recessed in said slot and operative winding positions in which they project outwardly from said mandrel and are adapted to have winding engagement with at least one of the cross-wires of the wire fabric to be wound on said mandrel, each of said hooks havinga stop for limiting its pivotal movement beyond said operative winding position, and separate springs biasing the movement of said hooks in a common rotational direction to their said operative positions, each of said hooks having a camming surface facing axially of said mandrel and adapted to be engaged by the fabric wire and pivoted thereby with a camming action to its said retracted position in response to axial stripping movement of a coil of fabric relative to said mandrel.

6. In a reel for winding wire fabric comprised of parallel line-wires and transversely extending cross-wires connected to the line-wires, a cylindrical winding mandrel having an axially extending slot along its outer surface, a plurality of parallel pivot pins respectively mounted in said slot in positions extending transversely of the axis of said mandrel and arranged along its length at spaced intervals corresponding to the spacing of the line-wires of the fabricto be wound thereon, anchoring hooks mounted on said pins for pivotal movement between retracted positions in which they extend axially with respect to said mandrel and are recessed in said slot and operative winding positions in which they project outwardly from said mandrel and are adapted to have winding engagement with at least one of the cross-wires of the wire fabric to be wound on said mandrel, each of said hooks having a stop for limiting its pivotal movement beyond said operative winding position, separate springs biasing the movement of said hooks in a common rotational direction to their said operative positions, and stripping means including a part movable in an axial d rection relative to said mandrel for stripping a coil of fabric wound thereon by imparting an endwise stripping movement thereto, said anchoring hooks pivoting against the action of said biasing springs to their said retracted positions in response to stripping movement of a coil of fabric over said mandrel.

7. In a reel for winding wire fabric comprised of parallel linewires and transversely extending cross-wires connected to the line-wires, the combination with a pair of bearing supports mounted for guided rectilinear movement in opposite directions between operating and retracted positions, of a pair of cylindrical mandrels rotatably mounted on said supports in axially aligned positions projecting toward each other, each of said mandrels having an axially extending slot along its outer surface, a plurality of parallel pivot pins extending transversely of the axis of said mandrel and respectively arranged along its length at spaced intervals corresponding to the spacing of the line wires of the fabric to be wound thereon, anchoring hooks mounted on said pins for pivotal movement between retracted positions in which they are recessed in said slot and operative winding positions in which they project outwardly from said mandrel outer surface and are adapted to have winding engagement with at least one of the cross-wires of the Wire fabric to be wound on said mandrel, and means including separate springs for biasing the movement of said hooks from their said retracted positions to their said operative positions, the hooks respectively on different ones of said mandrels being arranged to pivot in opposite rotational directions against the action of their biasing springs when a coil of fabric is stripped from said mandrels in response to movement of said bearing supports to their said retracted positions.

8. In a reel for winding wire fabric, the combination with a pair of bearing supports mounted for guided rectilinear movement in opposite directions between operating and retracted positions, of a pair of mandrels rotatably mounted on said supports in axially aligned positions projecting toward each other, a plurality of anchoring hooks arranged at spaced intervals along the length of each of said mandrels for winding engagement with the fabric to be wound thereon, means mounting each of said hooks for pivotal movement about an axis extending transversely with respect to the axis of said mandrels between an operative winding position projecting outwardly from the mandrel on which it is mounted and an axially extending retracted position, each of said hooks having a spring biasing its pivotal movement to said operative winding position and a stop for limiting its movement by said biasing spring beyond said operative position, the hooks respectively on different ones of said mandrels being arranged to pivot in opposite rotational directions against the action of their biasing springs when a coil of fabric is stripped from said mandrels in response to movement of said bearing supports to their said retracted positions.

9. In a reel for winding wire fabric, a winding mandrel, a plurality of anchoring hooks arranged at spaced intervals along the length of said mandrel for winding engagement with fabric to be wound, and means mounting said hooks on said mandrel for movement between operative winding positions in which they project outwardly from said mandrel and retracted positions in which they are recessed in said mandrel, each of said hooks having a spring biasing its movement to its said operative position and a camming surface facing axially of said mandrel and adapted to be engaged by the fabric wire and moved thereby with a camming action to its said retracted position in response to axial stripping movement of a coil of fabric from said mandrel.

10. In a reel for winding wire fabric, a cylindrical winding mandrel having an axially extending slot along its outer surface, a plurality of anchoring hooks arranged at spaced intervals along the length of said mandrel for winding engagement with the fabric to be wound thereon, means mounting each of said hooks in said slot for movement between a retracted position in which it is recessed therein and an operative winding position in which it pro- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,632,472 Gordon June 14, 1927 1,822,414 Mossberg Sept. 8, 1931 1,951,187 Dierking Mar. 13, 1934 2,420,936 1947 Davis May 20, 

